


The Jiffy Pop Secret To Life

by Missy



Category: How I Met Your Mother
Genre: Bonding, F/M, First Dates, Food, Humor, Popcorn, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-15 18:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2238447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missy/pseuds/Missy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"So what do you think it's all about - life, I mean?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Jiffy Pop Secret To Life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [myrifique](https://archiveofourown.org/users/myrifique/gifts).



“So what do you think it’s really all about, when you boil it all down?” 

They’d been walking all morning – through Central Park, in a warm drizzle that had given way to a hazy, summery afternoon. The sun was pure white-gold as it poured through her apartment window, bringing out the amber highlights hidden in her hair. Tracy gave him her best crooked smile. “That’s a little deep for nine am, Ted Mosby.”

“I think you can just call me Ted now,” he insisted. “And you didn’t answer my question.”

She pretended to consider his words, shaking out her dark hair, squeezing the last few drops of rain hidden within the thicket of her tangles. Then she moved toward the kitchen area, telling him to follow.

Ted stood back and let her put together her presentation; he was patient as any other teacher listening to his pupil lay out their own lesson plan. 

Tracy didn’t take long to bring her little plot into obvious being. “The secret to life is one word, one thing,” she said, and turned toward the high shelves. Digging out a small plastic container and a large popper, she turned on the power and poured a scoopful of kernels into the hopper. “Popcorn.” She shouted over the sound of the machine.

“Popcorn?” he asked, watching her take a bowlful of white, fluffy kernels and pour them into a paper sack, where they emerged dusted with a light sheen of butter and sugar. He took the bowl of fresh stuff and prepared to carry it into the living room.

“Popcorn,” Tracy said firmly. “Popcorn is the answer to anything that will ever go wrong. It smells good, it tastes good, you can eat it like breakfast cereal with milk…” 

“Eeew!” 

“Hey, nobody makes fun of Laura Ingalls Wilder in this house, mister!”

“Point taken.”

She shrugged. “Popcorn is amazing, and I won’t hear otherwise.”

“Got it,” he said, saluting. “Popcorn is king, popcorn is all.”

She nudged him in the ribs. “What about you, huh? What’s your secret for living?”

Ted took less time to consider his answer. “Good friends and a cold beer.”

She raised an eyebrow, popping some of the kernels between her lips. “That’s a pretty good philosophy. Most of your friends are amazing. Especially Barney. He seems so sweet, I can’t picture him doing half the things he said you did. Especially with those salad tongs and the swan…” She climbed onto the kitchen counter and sat with her bounty between her knees.

“Oh, Barney will surprise you. Just like he surprised those swans.”

She grinned, toasted him with her popcorn. “You’re a great guy, Ted Mosby. Funny, and a great guy.”

“I didn’t mean to be funny.”

“Well, you made me smile, all the same. And at least as big as I smile over my popcorn. Which means you’re pretty special.” Tracy dipped her hand into the bowl of popcorn and held up a handful of the popped corn. “Here, try some.”

“Don’ t you want to put that on a plate or something?”

She sighed. “Nope. Eat.”

Ted sat down on the counter beside Tracy. He had to crane his neck a little to get his mouth level with her hand, but he managed it, eventually.

He nibbled under the angelic glow of her grin. 

_“And that, kids, was the first meal I ever ate with your mother.”_

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfiction uses characters from **How I Met Your Mother** , all of whom are the property of the **CBS Television Network**. No money was gained from the writing of this fanfiction and all are used under the strictures of of the Berne Convention.


End file.
